Community Developments

Last month, Virginia celebrated Bicyclist and Pedestrian Awareness Month. In 2015, 78 pedestrians and 15 bicyclists died as the result of crashes on Virginia roadways. In that same period in the Commonwealth, 661 bicyclists and 1,718 pedestrians were injured.
 
Safety on the road depends on mutual respect. Bicyclists, motorists, and pedestrians have responsibilities to ensure their safety and the safety of others. For example, motorists must pass bicyclists at a reasonable speed and at least 3 feet to the left of the cyclist. Bicyclists must obey traffic laws. Pedestrians should wear bright or reflective clothing and must walk, jog or run on the side of the road facing traffic.
 
Bicyclist and Pedestrian Awareness Month may be over, but it’s never too late to remind yourself of the importance of sharing the road in order to prevent crashes, injuries, and fatalities. RIDE Solutions encourages you to take this opportunity to determine what you can do to better protect yourself and others on the road.
 
To help improve safety on the region's roads, RIDE Solutions offers a number of tools that cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers can use:

• Request a Safe Bike Route:  RIDE Solutions can help you find the safest route from A to B using a combination of off-road trails like greenways, low-traffic streets, and roads with on-road bike accommodations.  We can even help you find park-and-bike or bike-and-bus options to overcome even the worst traffic snarls.

• Bicycle Incident Reporting Tool:  If you have an unsafe encounter with a cyclist or a driver, you can report it anonymously here.  This data allows us to work with local planners and law enforcement to determine the best way to improve safety or identify potentially dangerous vehicles on the road.

For more information on bicycle and driver safety, this short video by RIDE Solutions and Roanoke Valley TV illustrates some basic safety practices, right, and responsibilities of all vehicles on the road.